Newsletter

Savanna Maue: Taking Food & Fun reporting to new heights

This week I can’t not tell you about flying in a hot air balloon. I’ve told everyone I’ve seen about my experience this past week, from my grandma to the gas station attendant.

For the past three years, the organizers of Huff N’ Puff have attempted to coordinate a media flight day, but with that Kansas weather — you know how the saying goes, it didn’t happen.

Thursday morning, at the crack of dawn, we were set to fly. Five balloons took off from a grassy field near Lake Shawnee, and we floated over the lake to land safely in some unsuspecting person’s yard. The whole experience took about two hours, but it is one that will stick with me forever.

I completely understand the Rally Coordinator, Lori Hutchinson’s saying that being a balloon pilot “is in the blood.” The rush of being completely free and floating through the sky is nearly impossible to describe. The adrenaline is like a 45 minute roller-coaster ride, and even traveling at 5 miles per hour, it feels like you’re soaring.

The light weight of the balloon itself was the scariest part for me. Lori’s basket is on the smaller side, tight with three passengers, and the balloon is such a lightweight fabric it’s terrifying to think about how easily you could get blown away. But Lori was a masterful pilot, and although I never relaxed my strained grip — I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.

If you have the opportunity, support the folks at Huff N’ Puff and take flight!